


in the shadows (I think I'm going mad)

by lunariajen



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, But it's not scary, Ghostbusting (Ghostbusters), Happy Ending, Horror Elements, M/M, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:07:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27513541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunariajen/pseuds/lunariajen
Summary: Donghyuck truly can’t tell why he thought being a fake shaman would be the best career path idea. But it’s too late, and now both Renjun and he have to find a way to deal with very not-fake ghosts haunting Mark Lee – one of the richest heirs in the capital.(And one of the most handsome ones, but you didn’t hear that from them.)
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 8
Kudos: 61
Collections: '00 FIC FEST ROUND TWO





	in the shadows (I think I'm going mad)

**Author's Note:**

> prompt #00014
> 
> i'm happy to present you all donghyuck and renjun as broke college students who thought being a ghostbuster can't be that hard, rich mark, psychic jisung, and very stressed jeno. enjoy.
> 
> p.s. all of the boys are alive!

_("Oh no, you guys are not getting sugar daddies."_

_"Why not? I've already had people offer me that." Renjun shrugs._

_"Yeah, you hook up with some rich, old man, and later on he turns out to be the father of Jeno's old acquaintance. Doesn't sound too good." Donghyuck shakes his head._

_"What the fuck, Jeno, do you know all the rich people in this city?! Then what other ideas have you guys got, huh?"_

_"Fortune tellers. That's it."_

_"Hmm… Interesting but I'm not good at bullshitting people."_

_"But listen, you don't have to do anything. Just sit there with your eyes closed, solemn face, you can even nap. I'll hold your hand and make it look like I'm reading your thoughts. People will love it."_

_"All you do is capitalize on Renjun being pretty and Chinese," Jeno says from behind the counter._

_"I…" Donghyuck stops. "I might be doing that. But you can't tell me this is a bad idea. Simple and effective. We're trying to make a living here!"_

_"How about a normal job?" Jeno snorts._

_"No, but how about ghost hunting then?"_

_"A normal job…" He hides his face in his palms. "A cashier, a waiter, a babysitter, a delivery man, so many options but no... You want to be a ghostbuster."_

_"I agree with Jeno."_

_"What? Even you against me? Renjun, don't you realize how great of an idea that is?"_

_"I guess we can give it a try. But I don't have high hopes.")_

**……**

"Oh yes." Two figures walk out of an old building in more of a poor neighborhood. The taller of them lets out a sigh and hugs the newly received banknotes to his chest. "I love that feeling. Making money with little effort."

"Little effort? How is sitting in an attic full of rats in ancient robes little effort?" 

"I can help you take them off if you want." 

"Oh, shut up, Hyuck." 

Donghyuck then grins and speeds up so their walking pace matches. 

"Renjun, sweetie, this calls for a celebration. We just saved a woman from being haunted."

"Haunted, my ass." Renjun rolls his eyes. "There wasn't even half a ghost in the building."

"But she doesn't know that, right? That's what matters." The other boy shrugs. "Listen, we are not only shamans in the eyes of the public, we are also great actors, creative storytellers, you could even say… _artists_."

Renjun only shakes his head and picks up a quicker pace. The two of them strolling in the city in the middle of the day sure must be quite a sight – both wearing the traditional clothing of their respective home countries, faces fully covered, and ambiguous tools sticking out from their linen bags. As if they ran away from the filming set of a low budget period drama. It was Donghyuck's idea, the same as their entire business, to be honest. Renjun truly can't believe he got himself into that. 

"We should hurry. Jeno's probably making us coffee already." He lowers his bamboo hat once they get to a crowded bus stop. People recognizing them is the last thing they need.

"Fucking finally," Donghyuck mumbles when half an hour later they find themselves at the doors of their favorite coffee shop. 

It doesn't look extraordinary, it's medium-sized, predominantly in orange tones. But what makes it so special is that they can get anything for free. God bless Jeno's parents.

"Oh, look who paid us a visit." Jeno greets them with a smile as he nudges another boy curled up with his face on the table.

"The great Lee and the midget Huang, fighters of evil spirits and noisy rats," Donghyuck says as he walks up to Jeno to crush him in a hug. "How are you doing, little dude?" He pokes the boy who remains still as if his forehead was glued to the flat surface.

"Jisung's been feeling bad recently," Jeno explains. "You know, headaches, hallucinations, low body temperature. Friend loss."

"Aw, Jisungie, you'll get better soon. You're strong." Renjun says and plops on a chair after he's stripped from the outer robes.

That would be their friend group – Donghyuck, Renjun, Jeno. And Jisung, Jeno's younger brother, who wasn't initially part of it but joined it as he's at their parents' shop all the time. And his best friend, Chenle.

"So how did ghost hunting go this time?"

"Oh, dear. There was no ghost in sight but I can understand why our customer thought so." Donghyuck sits down as well and sips the coffee Jeno slid in his direction. "A homeless man who sneaked into the building died in the attic a while ago."

"He was found in a gruesome state. You know, rats…"

"Spare us from the details, Renjun." Jeno eyes the boy and subtly points at Jisung.

"Yeah, as I was saying." Donghyuck quickly continues. "Basically, since she lives on the highest floor, she kept hearing noises from the attic. She said she thought the man's soul was not at peace. So we, the professionals, took care of it."

"Our two previous cases were also rats." Renjun sighs. "It's getting boring. And my bag smells like rat poison." 

"Well, at least you're actually doing something good. Unlike the usual.” 

"To our defense, sometimes we can't find a reason for the noises. Maybe it's actual ghosts." Donghyuck snorts.

Jisung's body slightly jerks at the words. Jeno glances at him cautiously.

"Hey, Jisung… Do you wanna go upstairs?" He places a hand on his back.

Jisung shakes his head.

"No. I don't want to sense someone's presence when I know I'm alone."

The room gets quiet. There's no one but the boys in the cafe at the moment. Or is there?

"Okay. Stay here then. Tell me if you need anything." Jeno tries to ignore the cold shiver that just went down his spine. He locks eyes with Donghyuck.

Donghyuck feels it too. He often does. Just because he's not scared of supernatural beings doesn't mean he can't prove there aren't any.

**……**

A few hours later Donghyuck's in his apartment – a minimalist studio since he can hardly afford anything else – focused on reading the customers’ messages.

 _"I keep hearing knocking at odd hours. But once I get to the door, nobody's there."_ Donghyuck reads under his breath. "Hm. Perhaps hooligans. Renjun and I could set a camera and– Okay, that's already too much work. Next."

He sips his tea and opens another message.

 _"Noises at night, knocking on doors, windows, walls. Footsteps in the house, objects moving, levitating–_ That's pretty damn weird. I don't wanna deal with this shit." Donghyuck suddenly stops. He hears quiet knocking on his own doors. "Who’s bothering mepast 9 PM?" He angrily mumbles to himself as he makes his way to open the door and properly greet the intruder.

To his surprise, he's met with the sight of Renjun, his face wet from tears.

"Hi, Hyuck…"

"What on Earth happened to you?"

"My landlord kicked me out."

Donghyuck blinks a few times before he finally understands. "So you're homeless now? Why would he kick you out, you paid for the last month already."

"I… I didn't… My dad asked for money and I couldn't just tell him no."

Donghyuck sighs, pulls Renjun inside, and closes the door. "You should have told us. Jeno's not broke like us, he would have helped you." He sighs again, while Renjun places his two bags near the door. "Also, he's got way more space at his place, and here you're going to have to sleep with me in one bed. It's not like you're not welcome but you know..."

"That's not a problem. I don't want to be a burden to you so–"

"You could never be a burden to me, don't be an idiot."

Renjun drops his eyes to the floor and Donghyuck notices a faint smile on his face.

"Thanks, Hyuck."

"Now that you're here, we can choose our next client." 

Soon, the two of them sit together on Donghyuck's bed in front of the laptop. They pick the case of an older woman who's convinced her grandmother's spirit is following her. Cases of this kind are easy. You just have to play with people's minds a little.

"Hyuck, I want to thank you again," Renjun says once more when he leaves the tiny bathroom after he's showered.

"Stop making it such a big deal." Donghyuck rolls his eyes. "Just come here, let's go to sleep."

Renjun crawls into the bed with visible hesitation. The other boy sighs and pulls him closer.

"Donghyuck…"

"Shh. Let's just rest, okay? You need to rest and calm down. Soon we'll gain you enough money to rent you a new place." Renjun wants to reply but Donghyuck hushes him again. They lie there sleepless for a long time.

**……**

"Jaemin, I'm scared." The very same night, a blonde man calls out, curling up on his bed.

"Don't look out the window, Mark." A voice comes out of the phone speaker.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Mark shuts his eyes as tight as he can. The tapping on the window continues. 

Mark lives on the tenth floor.

"I think it's not her. She's standing by my door."

"She's not the one you should be afraid of." The voice from the phone sounds soothing and soft. "Remember not to look out the window."

A sudden loud thud makes Mark jump.

"Something just slammed against it, Jaemin, oh God, I'm scared I can't– Oh my God, it's scratching the glass. Jaemin, please–"

"Don't look."

Mark opens his eyes for a split second. His bedroom looks just like usual at night. It's dark, clean, only lightened up by the moonlight. And there's a woman in white in the corner. 

"She's still here." He whispers. "I… I can see the shadow of whatever's behind my window." His voice cracks.

"Close your eyes. Lie down, try to fall asleep. Everything will be gone once you wake up in the morning."

So Mark listens. The shrieking sound of a sharp object dragged against glass doesn't stop. But eventually, he drifts away.

He wakes up to a message carved on his window.

_Pay the price._

He grabs his phone with trembling hands. 

"Jaemin?" He says to the phone once his best friend picks up. "It left a message telling me to pay the price."

"Who left you a message?" The boy's voice is deep, husky, he probably just woke up. 

"The thing out my window."

"What are you saying?"

"You don't remember? I called you yesterday at 2 AM. You were telling me not to look at it."

"Mark…" Jaemin hesitates. "You didn't call me yesterday."

Mark checks his call history. No record of him contacting Jaemin from yesterday night.

"Then… who was I talking to?"

**……**

"Ma'am, this should help. Ten thousand won each." Renjun points at the handmade talismans. "I recommend three. One on the door to your house, second under your pillow and one in your purse."

"Thank you, thank you."

"Also, if you feel distressed or cold I recommend this," Donghyuck adds and shows the woman a small bag of herbs. "You can make tea out of it. Fifteen thousand won."

"Thank you so much."

"I can perform a Taoist prayer to keep you safe if you'd like. One hundred fifty thousand won." Renjun sends her a smile and when she nods, he takes a seat on the floor.

As he recites something in Chinese, Donghyuck takes a look around. The older lady must be quite wealthy, judging by her house. They don't scam poor people.

Once Renjun is done, they sell the client a couple more items, advise her to go to the doctor, and leave with the sum of two hundred fifty-thousand won. Not bad, considering all it took was a bag of calming tea, poorly scribbled talismans copied from a fantasy drama, and Renjun saying out loud lyrics to a Chinese lullaby.

"I love this job."

It's a custom at this point that they visit Jeno's and Jisung's coffee shop after successful services. So they make their way to the city center, trying not to look suspicious. If that's even an option.

"Oh, hello Chenle– Wait a second, and what is _she_ doing here?"

"Who is this?" Renjun whispers.

"This? This is Kim fucking Yerim! My sworn enemy, a woman that truly awakens something in me whenever I see her."

"Sounds like sexual tension to me."

"I am a gay man, Renjun. There's no sexual tension here, just pure hatred ignited long years ago."

"You're still just as dramatic." Yeri sighs and stands up, turning to the older boy. "You must be Huang Renjun. I'm Yeri, it's nice to meet you."

"Hi," Renjun says and eyes Jeno behind the counter.

"Yeri's here to pick up Jisung and Chenle. She's torturing– I mean tutoring them."

"Torturing too." Chenle sighs. "I'll go get Jisung, the toilet must have sucked him inside by now."

Once the boy leaves, the two newcomers sit down at an empty table. Renjun draws circles with his finger on the table, avoiding eye contact with anybody. Donghyuck keeps glancing between Jeno and Yeri, who continue a quiet conversation.

"It's a good thing we changed into normal clothes in that public restroom," Renjun whispers.

"Oh yeah. This wench would never let me live if she saw me in my work outfit."

Jeno serves them coffee – sweet mocha latte for Renjun, and black iced americano with two extra espresso shots for Donghyuck. At the same time, Chenle drags Jisung downstairs, clutching his hand. Jisung covers his face with the sleeve of his checkered flannel.

"Jisung, you can look around, don't worry," Chenle tells him as they finally reach the tables.

Jisung takes a peek and adjusts his sunglasses. "Is there a guy near the window?"

"Yeah."

"And the girl in the corner– Nevermind. I can tell. Ghosts like corners."

Donghyuck blinks a few times in confusion. Jisung seems way less terrified than a few days ago. That's a good sign.

Yeri guides the two teens outside. Jeno joins them at the table.

Renjun snickers. "You're so dramatic, Hyuck. She seems okay."

"Well, I used to be a theater kid in high school."

"I can confirm." Jeno nods. "He was good. Probably the best at musicals."

"Probably?" Donghyuck scoffs. "Well, I must admit Jeno was good in his field too. Soccer, you know. We were quite an iconic duo."

"It's a shame I only met you in college." Renjun sighs and rubs his eyes. "Anyway, I think I should go soon. I'm meeting up with a classmate."

"Oh? A date?" Donghyuck wiggles his eyebrows and immediately gains a slap on the shoulder.

"No, we're doing a project for designing classes together.”

Once Renjun gathers his belongings and leaves the shop, Donghyuck gains a slap on the other shoulder as well.

" _A date?_ " Jeno mocks him. "What are you? An idiot?"

Donghyuck's smile immediately falls. "A coward."

Jeno lets out a deep sigh as he shakes his head. "Just tell him you like him."

"What can you know? You last dated somebody when you were Jisung's age. And it was a bad choice anyway."

"Jaemin wasn't a bad choice–"

"He was awfully rich, snobby, and judgemental. You deserve better."

Jeno doesn't get to respond, as two new customers come in. Donghyuck sighs and leans back in the chair, turning on his phone. Time to find a new client.

**……**

At this point Mark's not sure if he's brave or simply stupid.

Working at night in his bedroom goes wrong, to nobody's surprise. The ghost lady stays still in the corner, as is custom, but Mark has learned to ignore her. Not like he's content with her presence, but at least she's not the one scratching his window.

"Damn," he mutters under his breath when his laptop lags. It displays the document he's working on, screen frozen. The music in his earphones stops as well. He hears voices and for a few seconds thinks it's his neighbors. But then he realizes what they're saying

_"You have to pay the price, Minhyung."_

_"You can't run away from us."_ He gulps.

_"Pay the price."_

"What price?" He manages to ask. "My name isn't even Minhyung."

"Don't talk to them." He hears that soothing voice from the night a few days ago again. "Don't ever answer their calling. They're deceiving you, Mark."

Mark presses on the keyboard with a shaking hand. He presses again and again but nothing changes.

"And how can I know you're not deceiving me too?"

"You have to trust me."

"I want this to be over." His throat is clenched. "I'm scared."

"I know. Don't worry, they can't hurt you as long as I’m here. Go to sleep, Mark. Go to sleep and search for help tomorrow."

After those words, the laptop starts working again. Mark jumps in surprise when loud music plays again. He places a hand over his heart and collapses on his bed.

**……**

"Finals are around the corner." Renjun lets out a sigh and wraps himself in the blanket. "We don't have enough time to go around the city and make fools out of ourselves and others."

"Sweetie, we can't afford to stay home and study either." Donghyuck turns off the lamp and joins him in bed.

Renjun whines and closes his textbook, throwing it on the floor. Donghyuck chuckles and snuggles up to the boy. He doesn't complain but doesn't hug back either.

"I'm upset."

"I can see that."

"Maybe I should learn actual Taoist prayers and beg for money?"

"You could try that." Donghyuck lazily plays with his hair. Renjun is so pretty. The moonlight reflects on his face, making him glow. Donghyuck really wants to touch his soft skin and place a kiss on his cheek. But he knows he can't do that. At least not yet.

Jeno's tired of how oblivious Renjun is to Donghyuck's pining, and Donghyuck admits he's tired too. He's had a crush on the boy since the very beginning of college.

So he takes the opportunity to nuzzle his face into the boy's neck and begins to wonder when he’ll be able to call this boy _his_.

**……**

"Well, that's not impressive," Jaemin says after a priest leaves Mark's apartment. He clearly didn't help a lot. Neither did the previous two. "Mark, I totally respect your religion, but how about you try some other methods?"

"Like what?" Mark plops down on his bed and covers his face in his hands.

"Shamans or something."

"That's occultism. It's a sin., I can’t do that."

"First thing, don’t act like you don’t ever sin, and also Mark, you're being haunted and yet I do not see Jesus being especially eager to help you." Jaemin snorts and takes a sip of red wine he poured himself earlier. 

"Yeah, but–"

"No buts." He walks up to the corner the ghost lady frequents. "I already found somebody who can help you."

**……**

"Renjun, are my eyes deceiving me?" Donghyuck shows the boy who's still in bed a new message. 

_"A ghost showing up in the bedroom, other ghosts making sounds and repeating a message–_ This looks scary." Renjun reads and then yawns.

"Scroll down."

 _"We offer a high payment, starting at–"_ Renjun rubs his eyes. "Ten million won?! Is that guy crazy?!"

Donghyuck grins when he sees Renjun's eyes, glowing with excitement. Renjun indeed is excited, as he wraps his arms around Donghyuck's neck and pulls him down. As Donghyuck ends up on top of him, he laughs, a bit awkwardly.

Once Renjun calms down, he sighs and stares at Donghyuck's face with a smile. "Hyuck… You're blushing, oh my gosh."

"Yeah..."

Renjun giggles and places his hands on the boy's cheeks. "This is hilarious. I can't believe I made you blush."

"Very funny…"

"Hey," he says. Donghyuck locks their gazes. "I love you." 

Donghyuck's eyes go wide. Renjun laughs again.

"Um–"

"I mean it, we got the best deal yet."

Donghyuck exhales the breath he didn't even know he was holding in. He drops his head on the pillow and hides it in the crook of Renjun's neck.

"Yeah… It might be a hard task though." 

"We'll manage, Hyuck. We always do."

**……**

"It's official. Jisung sees ghosts." Chenle announces as he enters the shop. "We discussed it with Yeri."

"I thought you were supposed to study," Jeno mumbles as he cleans glass behind the counter.

"We did! We're preparing for college entrance exams. But at some point Jisung went like, hey, have you seen that older lady with a cat? And we were like, Jisung, no older ladies came by today."

"Oh, nothing new." Jeno snorts. "I once saw him serve coffee to an empty table."

"Exactly! We found out he can casually talk to ghosts!" 

"It's kinda scary though," Jisung adds. Donghyuck notices the two boys are holding hands. "Like, I'm not sure if the ghost is nice and if it's aware it's no longer alive. What if it attaches itself to me?"

"That's unlikely," Renjun says and takes a spoonful of ice cream. "But you shouldn't just go around and talk to random ghosts."

"I don't talk to random people either so don't worry," Jisung mumbles and takes a seat beside Donghyuck. It's truly a character development, Jisung's current behavior. Considering two weeks earlier he was walking with his eyes closed, sunglasses are nothing.

"Oh, by the way, we got a request from a very rich dude." Donghyuck sips on his coffee and finally speaks up. "He offers ten million won."

Jisung stiffens and glances up from his phone. Jeno nearly drops a plate.

"Ten million?!" Chenle exclaims with wide eyes.

"And we can negotiate an even higher price," Renjun adds. "Which we will do. He's the son of one of the richest CEOs in the city."

"Mark Lee? You're going to work for Mark?" Jeno tries to confirm.

"You know him?" Renjun blinks in confusion.

"He used to date a rich boy, he knows many people of this kind," Jisung explains.

"Well..." Jeno clears his throat. "Anyways, you guys should hurry. Liu Yangyang came by the other day. He's getting more and more suspicious."

"Ah. I forgot about this asshole."

"He should mind his own business."

"Well, he's a law major. Of course, he can't just let you two rob people."

"Excuse me? We're not robbing anyone." Donghyuck frowns.

"Well, Yangyang disagrees."

Sometime later, Renjun and Donghyuck are back in their now shared apartment. They're supposed to show up at the client's place at 10 PM, as ghosts seem to appear only at night. If that's not unsettling enough, the client warned them to beware of the janitor.

"What's wrong?" Donghyuck asks when he sees Renjun throw his maths textbook across the room and curl up on the bed.

"My tummy hurts." The boy pouts.

"Out of stress?"

"Yeah."

"Should I kiss it better?" Donghyuck chuckles but his laugh dies in his throat once he sees Renjun nod. "Um. Okay then."

He stands up from the desk, goes over to the bed, lifts the boy's hoodie, and lowers his head. He sends Renjun one more careful glance. When he sees his calm expression, he places a short peck on his abdomen. 

"It still hurts."

Donghyuck feels Renjun's fingers entangling into his hair. He kisses his stomach two more times before sitting up and staring down at his face.

"Pretty."

"What?"

"You're pretty."

A blush creeps upon Renjun's face.

"And you're annoying."

Donghyuck rolls his eyes and lies next to him. He smiles and nudges his side with his elbow.

"Come on, babe. I know I'm making you shy, there's no need to be rude."

"Is this a punishment I get for teasing you last time?"

Donghyuck chuckles but doesn't respond. They take a short nap before what seems like a long night. Oh boy, they'd never guess how long.

For Renjun, it's the first time to step into such a tall and expensive building. Donghyuck has been in one before. The one that belongs to Jeno's ex.

The janitor glares at them the entire time. Besides that, nothing seems off. That is until they reach the tenth floor.

"It's way too cold in here."

"Calm down. Must be the air conditioning."

Mark greets them at the door to his apartment. He looks normal, dressed in all black, a sweatshirt and sweatpants. But what catches the attention of the two boys is his face. His handsomeness aside, he looks pretty damn horrified.

"Hi," he says and sends them an awkward smile. "Come in."

The apartment looks simple, the walls are white, the furniture gray. There's a lonely plant on the floor, very much dry already. 

"I admit it's quite an unusual apartment to be haunted. Ghosts tend to prefer old houses."

"Oh, you see, sir… It's not the apartment that's haunted. It's me."

The two "shamans" exchange looks. Renjun gulps.

"Then would like you to describe your situation again, sir?"

Mark sits on the couch and gestures at them to do the same. Then he clears his throat and takes a sip of water.

"There's a ghost in my bedroom. A woman around my age. Very pretty, seems harmless."

"Oh, that's not that much of a disadvantage then." Donghyuck shrugs.

"Oh, she's only part of the problem." Mark lets out a bitter laugh. "There are others but I guess they're not strong enough to get a visible form. I hear voices a lot. They're telling me to pay the price."

"What price?"

"I have no idea. They're not saying the details and I can't– I can't talk to them. Another voice tells me not to pay attention to them. I think it might be the woman."

Renjun and Donghyuck glance at each other again. 

"Would you like to go to my bedroom?" Mark asks. "There's a scratch on my window made by one of them."

As soon as Donghyuck steps a foot in the room, he feels something pulling him back. As if he's not allowed to be there. The air is cold, much colder than in the living room. 

"It feels… eerie in here." Renjun chokes out. "Is she here yet? The woman?"

"She appears at midnight."

Renjun takes a couple of steps back. Donghyuck guesses he feels it too, the suffocating pressure. 

The light flickers.

"We can go take a look at the hall, the attic, there must be some logical explanation," Donghyuck says and grabs Renjun by the shoulder. "We'll be back in ten minutes."

Before Mark can object, the two leave the apartment. Once they make it to the hall, they're surrounded by cool air. It's not a refreshing kind. It's the one that sends shivers down your spine. 

"Oh gosh…" Renjun takes a few deep breaths. "I think it was better in there."

"Let's just go to the attic."

The attic, which happens to be a couple of floors up, doesn't look suspicious. It's clean, empty, and probably has nothing to do with Mark's apartment meters below. But Donghyuck doesn't lose hope.

That is until the light goes off.

"Are you kidding me?" He mutters. "That's so cliché."

Moments later, Donghyuck feels a cold hand slip into his own. He freezes until he recognizes who it belongs to. Then he squeezes it with a chuckle and interlocks their fingers.

"Are you scared, babe?"

"Don't make fun of me. You know this is something bigger than us. I never agreed to get involved with actual ghosts."

Donghyuck shakes his head and continues leading them through the narrow corridor. Mere seconds later he hears Renjun gasp.

"What's wrong?"

"Please tell me it was you who just touched my ankle."

"Well, no. But it could have been a mouse."

"This was certainly not a mouse, we're in a modern skyscraper, oh God, get me out of here." Renjun cried out in a hushed voice.

"Calm down, this– Holy shit."

An ear-piercing scream cuts through the thick air. Both boys stop in their tracks, searching for the source of the sound. Yet, it's nowhere to be found.

"Oh sweet Mother of God, Holy Jesus–" Renjun chants under his breath, squeezing Donghyuck's hand so hard it hurts.

"Shut up, aren't you Buddhist?" Donghyuck whispers and pulls them to the exit.

"Whatever, let's just go!"

They walk at a quick pace, nearly run through the dark corridor. Donghyuck still hears ringing in his head. Whatever is in this building, it clearly doesn't welcome them here.

Once they reach Mark's living room, they're both panting and no longer trying to keep up appearances.

"Sir…"

"Call me Mark."

"Mark, this is nuts."

"Very eloquent comment coming from a shaman." Mark chuckles. He gestures at them to join him at the table.

"We don't usually deal with such... vengeful ghosts," Donghyuck explains. "I admit we might have trouble dealing with them."

"So you can't help me as well, huh?" Mark sounds tired. Donghyuck assumes they're not the ones he called first.

"We can," Renjun says all of sudden. The other two turn their eyes at him. "We need the help of a friend who can communicate with ghosts without any tools."

"Jisung?" Donghyuck mouths. Renjun nods in response.

"Can you come tomorrow?"

"We'd prefer Friday. Our friend needs lots of sleep."

Mark agrees. They chat for a while in an attempt to relax before midnight. Donghyuck asks lots of questions, such as if his neighbors ever complain about the situation. Turns out it truly is Mark that's possessed – strange things happen even if he sleeps somewhere else, and nobody else is disturbed. In return, Mark asks them about their lives as well. Donghyuck shares a lot of information, perhaps even too much, as at some point Renjun clears his throat and excuses them to go to the bathroom.

"What are you doing?" Renjun presses Donghyuck against the wall and hisses to his ear. "Telling him our names, college? Have you lost your mind?"

"Calm down. He's cute, isn't he?" Donghyuck grabs his face in his hands. "What can he do with this information anyway?"

"Ruin our reputation once he announces to the world our services are a scam!"

"That's why we have to work very hard to actually help him. Don't worry. We'll make it." The boy smiles and for a split second Renjun feels his lips on his forehead.

"Did you just–"

"Let's go."

"Donghyuck, you absolute–"

"Shh. Our client is waiting." Donghyuck drags him back into the room, to fidgeting Mark. It doesn't suit him to sway as if he's about to pass out in his thousand-dollar shoes.

"I just heard voices." The boy announces. "It's midnight."

The two share a look. Renjun gulps and holds himself back from grabbing Donghyuck's hand. They enter the bedroom.

"We can't see her."

"She's looking at you. That's weird, she's never moved before."

Donghyuck feels his back dripping with cold sweat.

"Ma'am?" He calls out. "Would you mind having a conversation with us? If not us, we can bring our pure-hearted friend, he can see spirits."

It feels eerie, to say the least. To talk to a ghost who's piercing your soul with their gaze at the very same moment. Donghyuck waits for a response.

"Has she moved or something?" Renjun asks in a quiet voice.

"No. She's still looking at Donghyuck."

"Ma'am, don't you think it's a bit awkward–"

Mark's phone buzzes. Renjun nearly jumps. Donghyuck takes a deep breath.

"I got a message," Mark says. _"Bring the friend. I don't have enough energy."_

"Don't worry, ma'am. We'll be here in two days."

The phone buzzes again.

 _"Take care of Mark."_ Mark reads out and scratches his neck. "Uh, I don't think there's a way to do that. Don't worry guys. She's overprotective."

Donghyuck snorts. "Seems like you two are getting along."

"She's glaring at you."

"Don't be an idiot." Renjun hisses. Mark chuckles and leads them out of the room. They talk for a long while until Renjun starts yawning a bit too often. Mark slips up and comments he thinks it's adorable which later on leads to them all exchanging personal phone numbers. Donghyuck is delighted because talking to one cute man? Sweet. But talking to two cute men? Absolutely amazing.

"You two should get going. I'll be fine once I fall asleep, and you must be tired." Mark suggests, glancing at Renjun starting to doze off. "I'll get my chauffeur."

Donghyuck wants to object and say it's not necessary – but then he takes a look at Renjun and changes his mind. 

"Thanks, Mark. We'll appreciate it a lot."

Half an hour later they're already in their studio apartment. Renjun strips out of his robes and leaves them on the floor. He throws himself on the bed and lets out a deep sigh. Donghyuck chuckles at the sight. A few minutes later he turns the light off and joins him.

The moon is out. Its light reflects through the nearby tree, creating shadows on Renjun's bare back. Donghyuck admires it for a moment, the moving shapes dancing on his shoulder blades. Renjun, as if he felt his eyes on himself, turns his head around to face him. They gaze at each other in silence before Renjun speaks up.

"You kissed me today."

"I wouldn't call it a _kiss_ , more of a brief, impulsive peck– And it wasn’t on the lips anyway so no news."

"But you would kiss me, wouldn't you?"

"I mean, well, the answer is kind of predictable, who wouldn't want to kiss you?" Donghyuck gulps. His body heats up, he begins to feel more anxious than during the entire night. "I mean, I don't want to cross any boundaries that you do not wish me to, of course, but as you might or might not know you are quite of a person on the attractive side, and as I am gay–"

"Shut up, you idiot." Renjun groans and hides his face in the pillow. "I'm literally trying to get you to kiss me again."

Donghyuck's eyes go wide, he blinks a couple of times, as if trying to check if he's not dreaming.

"Oh– Are you serious? You want me to kiss you? Like right now?" Renjun sighs in response and turns out to lie on his side, his back facing Donghyuck. "Seriously?"

"No. You lost your chance. Try again later."

"So you mean it? Oh my gosh."

"Shut up, Hyuck. Let's sleep now. You can hug me."

Donghyuck's face brightens up with a smile. He wraps his arms around Renjun's torso. 

"Sweet dreams."

"After tonight I'm pretty sure we're going to have nightmares."

"I'll protect you."

"Bro, you nearly had a silent heart attack today.”

"Renjun? Did you just bro-zone me?"

"If you don't shut up you can easily get back there."

So Donghyuck stays quiet. He places a kiss on Renjun's nape. Minutes later, he falls asleep with a smile on his face.

**……**

"So… basically you want to drag this child–"

"I'm nineteen."

"–You want to drag this _child_ to a place full of evil spirits? Put him in danger?"

"Jeno, listen, it's not as bad as you think, we just need him to talk to one ghost…"

"One ghost?! How is that comforting?"

Donghyuck sighs and rubs his temples.

"Didn't you encourage him to do that earlier–"

"You can't compare talking to a ghost of an older lady in a cafe to communicating with scary ghosts haunting somebody at night!"

"From what Mark said the ghost we want to talk with is nice." Renjun shrugs and takes a sip of his latte.

"Come on, Jeno, don't be like that." Chenle grabs the boy’s arm and sways him to the side and back. "Jisung needs adventures!"

"You hear him? I need adventures." Jisung pouts at his brother, who only shakes his head.

"That's dangerous."

"We'll keep him by our side all the time."

"You better do." Jeno snorts as he walks away to get a cup of coffee for another customer. "We're best friends but that won't stop me from kicking your ass if something happens to him."

"Nothing will happen to me, Jeno!" Jisung grins at his brother.

That would make it official – tomorrow night the three of them, Donghyuck, Renjun, and Jisung, spend the night at Mark's apartment. Tonight, however, the older boys spend studying. Finals are closer and closer and why go through all the hardships of college only to fail because of one's laziness?

Well, that's what Donghyuck thinks. But, to be completely honest, his eyes keep closing on their own while reading his biology textbook.

"Hyuck… Oh, man. I can't take this any longer." Renjun lets out a deep sigh while staring at the white ceiling. "I still have to finish my project. I'd honestly rather make out with you now."

Donghyuck chokes on his saliva. "We– We don't have time to make out."

"Come on."

Donghyuck clears his throat and adjusts himself on the chair at the desk. "Renjun, are you bored?"

"I'm not bored. I thought it was obvious we like each other."

"I mean, yeah…"

"Ah, you absolute idiot." Renjun groans. "You keep making it awkward."

The following morning Donghyuck shows up to the cafe alone – Renjun has classes to attend. To his slight disappointment, Jeno isn't there, Jisung's on the shift instead. He probably should be in school too, but he always manages to get what he wants from his parents. And although Jisung's dating experience is small to non-existent, Donghyuck still decides to spill his heart out. What has he got to lose?

"So… what's the problem?" Jisung looks up from the coffee maker.

"What do you mean, _what's the problem?_ "

"Shouldn't you just go for it? Jeno says you've been pining for two years."

"Yeah but like, wouldn't you be afraid to date Chenle? What if it goes wrong and your friendship gets ruined?"

"I don't know." Jisung shrugs. "I wouldn't want to date him in the first place.” He grimaces at the thought. “But theoretically speaking, if we wouldn't work out as a couple… Well, at least we tried, right? That's better than living for years of friendship while longing to get closer."

Donghyuck rests his forehead on the table with a sigh. "You're right, kid. I guess. But what if I end up like Jeno?"

"Jeno's an idiot." Jisung scoffs. "You and Renjun have much more potential than he and Jaemin ever had."

By the time Donghyuck has to head to class, he's already somewhat convinced. Being with Renjun is worth the risk.

**……**

"And? Thoughts?" Jaemin spins around in his new satin suit, in the color of deep burgundy. Mark has no choice but to admit he looks good – first thing, Jaemin would get upset otherwise, and also, it's simply true.

"Nice. Matches your black hair well. You look… spicy."

Jaemin grins and poses again, flipping his imaginary long hair. "Of course I do! That's the point. I had my employee do my makeup today too. Don't I look dangerous in it? I go for a bold look."

"You do, Jaemin. You do." Mark shakes his head with a smile. His best friend loves luxury and showing it off. He gives everybody expensive gifts, partially from a good heart, partially to make sure they know he's _rich_ rich. 

Well, not like Mark's much poorer. He just… doesn't have such huge standards.

"Oh, by the way, how did you like the shaman guys I got you?" Jaemin asks, taking a seat on the couch.

"They're cool, but not especially skillful. They're coming today too with a friend."

"Not skillful?" Jaemin cocks an eyebrow. "Their website seemed legit. I offered them ten million won!"

"Your suit was six million, don't act like it's a big deal." Mark scoffs. "I think they'll manage though. I want to give them a chance."

"Just admit you got tired of me and you want new friends." Jaemin sighs and rests his head on his palm.

"You're overdramatic. But I do want other friends too."

"I knew it, not even gifts can keep people by my side." He lets out one more sigh.

Mark senses Jaemin's emo hours coming up. He joins him on the couch and opens his arms. The boy leans into the hug.

"You know you can't buy somebody's love."

"I know, I've tried it before. Didn't work out."

Mark sighs and strokes Jaemin's hair. "Do you wanna go shopping and spend lots of money?"

"Oh, _absolutely_."

**……**

"Are you kidding me?"

"Jisung, you need to match our aesthetic."

"Cheap hanboks? That's your aesthetic? Chuseok is in a few months." The boy snorts, searching through clothes in a thrift store. Korean traditional clothes, but an obnoxious version, to be precise. 

"This one isn't that bad–"

"Don't lie to yourself, Hyuck." Renjun sighs. "The color set hurts my eyes."

"Then what do we do?"

"The ones for girls look better…"

"You want to put me in a dress?" Jisung widens his eyes. 

"He's walking in a dress himself." Donghyuck snickers.

"Excuse, this is _hanfu_ and it's–"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Donghyuck! You're so–"

"Shh."

"Do you two ever let each other finish a sentence?" 

Donghyuck shrugs. "Sometimes. Anyways, let's get you an outfit."

Jisung ends up wearing a silky hanbok with elements in dark blue, yellow, and red. They all agree it could have been worse. The few remaining hours they spend at Donghyuck's place. 

Renjun's in the kitchen area, making dinner. Jisung sits on the bed alongside Donghyuck, as he's hit with a realization.

"You sleep together?!" He whispers and nudges the older boy on the side.

"Yeah." Donghyuck freezes. "I mean, no, not in that way. We just… as you can see, live a sustainable, minimalistic life."

"You're just broke."

"...That's also true. But you live off your parents’ money, so you don't get to make fun of us."

"Whatever, have you guys… at least kissed?" Jisung whispers. "Like come on. If you didn't, I'll have every right to make fun of you."

Donghyuck drops his gaze to the floor and remains quiet, while Jisung scoffs. But he's not given the chance to comment, as Renjun comes up to them with bowls of steaming soup.

"Careful, it's hot. I hope you don't mind spicy things, Jisung."

They chat for some time until 11 PM strikes on the clock. They head out into the dark city – traditional clothes on, fake devices in hand. Jisung also puts on sunglasses, which makes them look even more debatable. They make it to their destination without any comments and walk into the skyscraper.

The janitor watching by the entrance is accompanied by two female ghosts, both with distorted, bloody faces. That’s a red flag. They reach Mark's floor in peace only because Jisung doesn't inform the two boys about the invisible passenger in the elevator.

All of sudden, Jisung clutches Donghyuck's hand. 

"Oh my God..."

"What, did you see another ghost?"

"Another ghost? More like an army of ghosts." Jisung hisses with knitted eyebrows and hits Donghyuck's arm. Since no flight is available, fight it is.

"What?!" Renjun immediately lowers his voice. "How many?"

Jisung adjusts the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose and glances around. Chills go down his spine.

The entire hall is filled with wandering souls, too weak to know their own purpose, tied to something or somebody, unable to rest. Their facial features all melt together, making them a mass of nameless half-translucent bodies. Truly a disturbing sight, incomparable to anything Jisung has ever seen in his life. 

"Too many." He can't help but feel bad for the souls as he passes by them. Just why are they here? "But don't worry, they're harmless. They don't even sense our presence."

Mark greets them at the door. "Oh, you must be a shaman too." He smiles at Jisung.

"A shaman… Yes." The boy lowers his sunglasses to make eye contact. 

"The best one around," Donghyuck says and pats his shoulder. "May we come in?"

Jisung's original plan was to act mysterious and cool. It turns out to be a hard task, however, the moment he steps into the living room. He's immediately faced with a window, a one that takes up the space of nearly the entire wall. Donghyuck has always found it amazing, but Jisung freezes on the spot.

"This is no good. The energy here… The vibes are off." He settles on saying. "Donghyuck? May I have a word with you?"

Mark and Renjun exchange worried looks and watch as the two walk out of the room.

"Are you seeing more of them?"

"Countless. They're…" Jisung shivers in fear mixed with disgust. "They're all glued to the window. Watching Mark's every step."

"There's some pretty heavy shit going on here... Can you handle that? Jeno will never forgive me if something happens to you."

"I will try. We can't leave the guy like this." 

"Ah. You're so brave, Park Jisung." 

"Yeah…" The brave Park Jisung in question can literally feel his knees shaking. They go back into the room, where Renjun and Mark chat, completely unaware of the danger they could possibly be in.

Soon, they go into the bedroom to see the ghost lady. Although it's only Jisung and Mark who can see her, and the latter only sees her still image.

"Hello…" Donghyuck says while staring at the wall. "We brought our friend who can freely interact with the dead like you asked us to." He only hears silence in reply, but Jisung watches as the ghost turns around to face him with a sweet smile.

"I'm happy you're here, Jisung. You will be a lot of help."

"Uh… I'm… I'm glad I can help. You can say whatever you want, ma'am."

The soul begins to tell a story, and with her every word Jisung can feel his knees going numb. He sits on the floor and tries his best to ignore the screeching sounds and banging against the window. 

"Ignore them, child." The woman says even though she looks hardly any older than him. "They won't harm any of you as long as I'm here."

"So you're protecting Mark?"

"Of course I am. He's my son, after all."

Jisung's jaw drops, the three men beside him exchange concerned looks.

"Jisung? Jisung, sweetie, are you okay?" Donghyuck rubs his shoulder. 

The boy nods in response, glancing between the lady and Mark. "I can see that, ma'am."

"So you understand what you need to do?"

"Bring them justice. Don't leave Mark alone." The said boy blinks in confusion as Jisung continues talking. "We will find a way. Don't worry, ma'am."

"Very good. You're a good-hearted person."

Jisung feels awkward talking to the boys about the lady as if she's not there, so they go back to the living room. Jisung doesn't dare to face the window.

"We're gonna need Liu Yangyang."

"How does that possibly correlate to the ghost in Mark's bedroom?" Renjun lifts up an eyebrow.

"The ghost… Uh… She's– Mr. Lee, I have news for you."

Mr. Lee begins to look more and more concerned. "Go on."

"This nice lady is in fact your biological mother."

The room goes quiet. Donghyuck can't help but think back to what Jeno told him about Mark before – he's grown up raised mostly by nannies and his father, the mother was never in the picture. Now it's obvious why.

"That is possible," Mark finally says. "She died soon after giving birth to me. And she's always– She's always been protecting me as a ghost." His eyes water. Renjun puts his hand on his shoulder.

"So… What do we need Liu Yangyang for?"

Jisung tries to keep the explanation simple: Mark's father is behind the deaths of many people. Not directly, but through all of his tax frauds, lies, and connections. Especially the one to a Chinese gang.

Needless to say, Mark's shocked. 

**……**

"That's illegal."

"But I consent."

"It doesn't make it any less illegal."

Mark lets out a sigh and rubs his temples.

"Yangyang, don't be a little bitch." Donghyuck says. "We need your help."

"This is ridiculous. Ask Shotaro, he's more likely to get into fishy stuff."

"I talked to him two times, how can I possibly ask him for a favor like this one?!"

"How can you ask me?!"

"Please be so kind and help these fools out, hm?" Jeno says to Yangyang's ear as he puts the drinks on the table. "I'll make sure to repay you."

Now Yangyang calms down and sighs, visibly conflicted.

"It's going to be hard to excuse in court."

"The court doesn't have to be involved."

"Then how are you going to– Oh God, give me patience."

"We just have to sneak into my dad's house, gather evidence, then… then…" Mark frowns.

"Then what?" 

"Well, I don't know, take revenge?"

"Mark, we're definitely not going to kill your dad," Donghyuck speaks with the voice of a father scolding his child.

"What? Of course, we're not going to!"

The boy rolls his eyes. "Then how are you going to take revenge without involving the court?"

Mark takes a few seconds to think.

"We'll make him turn himself in. For some reason the ghosts don't haunt him, so… we'll haunt him ourselves."

"Yeah speaking about it, why are they haunting _you_? Could they be mistaken with your identity? Or they want to take away what's most precious to your father?" Jisung ponders over it with knitted eyebrows.

"That could be the case... But I guess we'll never know. Anyway, what do you guys think?"

Donghyuck and Renjun, who's been quiet the entire time, exchange looks and then glance at Yangyang. The law student lets out one more tired sigh.

"Okay. Let's break into your father's house or whatever."

**……**

"So… You blackmailed your dad..." Jaemin sips some wine. "...by putting all over his house pictures of the scratches on your window, some random gore, and recordings of the noises at your place I have no idea how you got… And left him a message saying he's next if he doesn’t admit his wrongdoings…"

"No– I mean yeah, but it's not like we'll actually hurt him."

"How does that change anything?" He watches as Mark begins to stumble on his words. "Nevermind. Do what you want, your dad doesn't like me anyway. So…" He changes the topic. "It means you've been spending lots of time with the ghostbusters."

"Oh, they'd make terrible ghostbusters." Mark laughs. "They brought a high school kid with them and I'm pretty sure he's the only one with any actual psychic abilities."

"Mark, get the subtext. I'm asking if they're cute."

"From your perspective? I think Renjun would be your type. And I can't quite pinpoint why but I feel like you and Donghyuck would fight."

"I know one Donghyuck." Jaemin grimaces. "We weren't what you'd call good friends, so you might be onto something."

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway because I'm calling dibs."

"On Donghyuck?"

"On both of them."

Jaemin's eyes widen as he bursts into laughter. "That's new coming from you."

"They might be terrible psychics but they _are_ cute."

"Keep them close then."

"How?"

The boy smiles at him the way people smile at small, oblivious children. "Markie, you've got what they want the most. Money."

**……**

"What the fuck?!"

The entire coffee shop goes silent. Jeno gives Donghyuck a threatening glare, as other customers stare at the boy.

Donghyuck doesn't seem to mind, covering his mouth while looking at his phone. He clutches onto Renjun's shirt, his eyes glistening.

"What?"

"You won't believe what Mark just texted me."

The people seem to lose interest, everyone goes back to minding their business. Except for their table: Donghyuck, Renjun, Yangyang, Jisung, and Chenle. As it is Saturday, they all get to gather together, the kids quickly bonding with the law student.

"Are you in love with him or what?" Chenle snorts.

"I might as well be, that man just offered to rent Renjun and I an apartment in the same building as him and pay for the entire next school year."

"He offered to rent you an apartment in a _haunted_ building, full of _dead_ _people_." Jisung blinks a few times, uncertainty in his voice. "What? I'm just making sure," he says when everyone stares at him.

"Exactly that building," Donghyuck says in the end. "Isn't that awesome? Renjun, we should marry him."

"You can't both marry him. Actually even one of you can't in this country." Yangyang sips his coffee. "And this entire thing looks sus to me. Why would he do that? Maybe he just wants to eventually get rid of you because you got to know too many secrets."

"Oh, shut up, you Criminal Minds wannabe."

"No, he might have a point," Renjun says in-between stuffing his mouth with apple pie. 

Donghyuck clicks his tongue. "Don't tell me you prefer living in my one-room studio over in a fancy apartment in a skyscraper."

"You guys honestly don't look like somebody who'd live in a fancy skyscraper." Chenle chimes in. "You have no, you know, _rich vibes_ whatsoever."

"Because we have no money whatsoever, you fool."

"Okay then, everybody." Renjun claps his hands together. "We're moving into a skyscraper and stealing from a handsome rich guy."

“As you should.”

**……**

After days of nothing but studying, finals finally come. Along with finals, come sleepless nights, coffee, and painkillers. For Renjun also calming herbal teas. 

“I can’t finish it in time. I can’t do it, Donghyuck.”

“You’re almost done!”

“No, I’m not! Look at the fonts! They’re horrendous, this is the ugliest poster ever. At this point, I could use comic sans and it wouldn’t make a difference.” 

“Didn’t you say comic sans is a forbidden font in graphic design?”

“Exactly!” Renjun hides his face in his palms.

It’s around 1 AM and Donghyuck spent the past two hours talking about cells and bacterias and stuff. All Renjun remembers from biology in high school is _“mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell”_ , and similar, Donghyuck has never used Adobe Illustrator in his life. They can’t help each other in any way other than showing emotional support. So they do exactly that.

"Do you want a hug?"

"Yeah."

Donghyuck gulps.

"Yeah? Come on, don't be a useless gay." Renjun puts the laptop aside so the other boy can lie down next to him on the bed. "I know you want it too."

"Yeah, I do, actually."

When they're both already curled up in each other's arms, Renjun asks. "What do we do now, Hyuck? I mean about Mark's dad and all that."

"I don't know." Donghyuck ponders for a while. "We wait. Yangyang and Mark talked out some stuff, Jisung talked with Mark's ghost mom again, we're kind of useless at this point."

"You might be right… We can't emotionally blackmail Mr. Lee, after all. Everything depends on Mark's acting skills."

"He told me he was going to act all terrified and beg his dad to admit his wrongdoings."

"This can't be that easy."

Indeed, it was not, but they only found out during the next weekend. Mark invites them over, shows them the apartment he wants them to move into, and only then, while drinking coffee, says the most crucial thing.

"He didn't buy it."

"What? There was nothing to buy, we showed up with facts!"

"Well, he decided to ignore them. He's considering getting a private investigator and sue whoever did that."

"Fuck."

Fighting rich people is pointless, Renjun’s dad once told him. Renjun now understands why. And now that finals are over, he can’t help but ponder over it on sleepless nights. _“Do you want your dad to go to jail?”_ he once asked Mark. Of course, Mark doesn’t; it’s his father after all. Maybe a selfish part of him wants to keep him safe and ignore the vengeful spirits. But in the end, his moral compass tells him he can’t leave it at that. 

On Tuesday the two boys are already settling into their new apartment. It’s not that fancy, not that big either, but significantly better than Donghyuck’s tiny studio rented solely because of his fight with his parents. Around midnight Donghyuck pays Mark a small visit to ask to borrow a drill – a questionable time, he knows, but it’s not like either of them has sleep scheduled. Oh, how surprised he is when he hears a familiar voice coming from Mark’s bedroom.

“What’s going on here?” He leans on the door frame and cocks his eyebrow at the sight of Jisung sitting on the floor.

“He’s talking to my mom.” Mark enters the bedroom with three cups of coffee.

Donghyuck can’t help but laugh. “A rich man having a high school kid talk to walls in his bedroom at night. Your neighbors better not see this, Mark.”

Jisung frowns. “Mrs. Lee would flick your forehead now if she could.” 

“Oh, I apologize, ma’am. But let’s be honest, it looks kind of hilarious.”

Jisung shakes his head and continues staring at one spot in the corner, occasionally nodding. 

“Can you see her?” Donghyuck whispers to Mark once they settle on his bed with coffee.

“Faded but yeah.”

“Hold on.” The boy freezes before he even lifts the cup to his mouth. ”Do his parents– No, does Jisung’s brother know he’s here?”

“Oh– Well, I hope he didn’t sneak out. He didn’t say anything and I didn’t really question him so...”

“You just let him in and didn’t even tell me?”

“I thought you knew!” Mark hisses loud enough for Jisung to hear.

“What’s wrong?”

“Jisung, does anyone know you’re out on a school night?” Donghyuck asks.

“Chenle knows.”

“This’s not an ideal answer.”

“I was supposed to sleep over at his place but I just, like… you know, I just had this gut feeling and couldn’t sleep so Chenle told me to do something about it and now I’m here.” 

“This is bad.” Donghyuck hides his face in his palms. “This is very bad. I’m telling Jeno, he'll pour boiling water on me next time he makes me tea if I don’t, and that’s already a positive scenario.”

“No, no, Hyuck– Hyung, please, don’t call him. Just give me fifteen more minutes and I’ll have Chenle pick me up. We’ll eat cookies, watch one episode of Avatar and go right away to sleep, hm? Please?”

“Jeno must be protective,” Mark says.

“Oh, he is.” Donghyuck sighs. “But okay. Fifteen minutes, Jisung. And don’t drink that coffee, I’ll give it to Renjun.”

“Oh gosh, you left that coward alone at night in a haunted building– I think he’s the one you should be scared of right now, not Jeno.” Jisung snickers and turns around to finish his conversation. The two boys hear something along the lines: “Oh yes… Yeah, I was thinking so too. Well, we can’t kill him– Oh, yeah, of course, that’s not what you meant, ma’am, haha… Oh… But are you sure this will work? I don’t know if I can… Alright, you can try, if they’re willing then I will. Oh boy, this is going to traumatize me. What? Three hundred forty-two? This is going to be so hard but if that’s the only option...”

“What are they talking about?” Donghyuck leans closer to Mark and whispers to his ear. 

“He told her threatening my dad backfired. Looks like they came up with a different solution. At least I hope so.”

They indeed did. The problem is, it’s not really an ideal plan.

“Oh, for this to work out we’re gonna need money, Liu Yangyang, calming tea for you, and Renjun with Jeno out of the city ‘cause they will stop us if they know.”

“Nothing we can’t do.”

**……**

“You better pay me for helping you with this shit again.” Yangyang lets out a deep sigh and rubs his temples. “I’m a law student, not an investigator, I don’t have access to some old files to be able to identify these people. I’m gonna have to bother my brother and he won’t like it.”

“You’re brother is a cop?”

“Let’s just say he’s the opposite… Long story.” Yangyang says when Donghyuck gives him a questioning look.

“Okay, have we got everything?”

“We have…” Mark counts on his fingers. “Our medium a.k.a Jisung, Jisung’s brother and Renjun asleep at your place, medium’s emotional support, a laptop, a law student, a shaman, and a haunted person. I think it’s enough to perform a decent exorcism.”

“Who’s the emotional support?”

“Me.” Chenle walks into the room with a peace sign and a cone of ice cream.

“And what are you doing here?!”

“Calm down, Donghyuck.” Chenle sits on the floor by the door. “I’m just here to watch you dispel vengeful spirits.”

“...Are you high?” Donghyuck watches as the boy shrugs. “My gosh. Is Jisung high too?”

“Calming tea might not have been enough.”

Donghyuck inhales sharply. “I’m going to beat your ass, kid, you’re on thin fucking ice–”

“Everybody calm down, let’s get to work.” Yangyang clears his throat and moves Mark’s desk away from the wall. ”Open the window, we’re letting the spirits in. Burn the incense.”

“Wow, you have some knowledge.”

“No, I just have a Chinese grandma. You should have some knowledge, you disaster of a shaman.”

Donghyuck huffs but obeys. Within the next ten minutes Chenle falls asleep, Mark hangs approximately five talismans on himself, Donghyuck feels genuinely threatened, Yangyang notes one name, and Jisung nearly passes out.

Because the plan suggested by Mark’s ghost mother is simple in theory, but much harder when you have to deal with objects flying around the room and lights flickering. Since nobody in the group was too keen on the idea of committing murder, they decided to relieve the souls’ suffering by somewhat recompensating their losses. That would be paying respect to their graves and financially helping out their families. Will it work? They don’t know, at this point, there’s no harm in trying.

If the other boys think what’s going on is terrifying, they’re lucky they don’t see things from Jisung’s perspective. He takes his sunglasses off and looks out the huge window. Countless ghosts floating around, some faceless and blurry, some with rage in their eyes, trying to get inside and destroy everything in their way. Banging and scraping on the glass, low howling, sudden ear-piercing screams, needless to say, the boy asks for the names with tears streaming down his cheeks. But finally, after long hours, dawn begins. With the first rays of the sun, the ghosts start to go away one by one. 

“We got… two hundred forty-one names. We’re missing one,” Yangyang says. His hair is messy, eyes red from staring at the laptop screen the entire night. Donghyuck finds himself with his head on Mark’s shoulder, and he’s pretty sure they both fell asleep at some point. Chenle is undisturbed and still sleeping, now in the living room. Meaning, it was just Yangyang and Jisung dealing with dead people nonstop for six hours.

“What?” Jisung’s eyes water. “No way, I asked all of them, even those who attempted to choke me.”

Yangyang checks again. “Sorry, one is still missing... Maybe I forgot to write it in…”

At this very moment, Jisung bursts into tears, hiding his face in his palms. “I can’t– I don’t want to ever do this again.” He sobs.

As if on command, Jeno walks into the room. “Who the _fuck_ hurt my brother?” His fierce eyes land on Donghyuck, who’s still lying on Mark’s shoulder.

“Chill, nobody did, the kid’s just exhausted. Take him and Chenle home, give him tea, a hug, he’ll be fine in no time.”

“He better be, he’s got an exam tomorrow.” Jeno walks up to Jisung, who buries his face in his chest.

“What is this gathering at six on a Sunday morning?” Renjun yawns as he joins them. “And why weren't we invited?”

“Mark, you shouldn’t have told them the code to your door,” Donghyuck whispers and mentally prepares for what comes next.

“We weren’t invited because we’re the only ones with common sense and we’d stop them from doing whatever they were doing!” 

Renjun exchanges looks with Jeno and realization dawns upon him. “What the fuck were you doing, Lee Donghyuck?”

The boy in question sits up right away and blinks with visibly fake innocence. “Hey, why are you only questioning me, babe?”

“You’re usually the mastermind behind all stupid things happening to us.”

Donghyuck tries his best to explain everything without igniting rage in the newcomers. For obvious reasons, he fails. But now that it’s done, they can’t do anything other than complain and beat him up. Although, it wasn’t his idea in the first place, but that seems to be unimportant to the two.

In the end, Jeno follows Donghyuck’s suggestion and takes care of the two high schoolers and also takes Yangyang with him. That lefts in Mark’s apartment only upset Renjun, tired Donghyuck, and equally tired Mark himself.

“...Now what?”

“Waiting until Yangyang’s mysterious brother sends us info about your nightly ghost visitors.”

“Can I suggest breakfast– “

“Renjun’s cooking.”

“What? Why me?”

“Because you’re the only one who got to peacefully sleep the entire night!”

“As if that’s my fault!”

Mark watches as the two continue playfully bickering with a smile. Excluding the events of the previous night, this is exactly the kind of morning he’s wished for.

**……**

To everyone’s surprise, the plan works out. 

As Mark, usually accompanied by one of the shamans, who stopped pretending they have any abilities whatsoever, by the way, visits the graves and anonymously sends families money, the spirit count goes down. By the start of summer break, there’s only one left.

“Ma’am… You are the ghost we missed back then, aren’t you?” Jisung asks one warm summer night, as usual, sitting on Mark’s floor and “staring at the wall”.

“She has to be,” Renjun says. “You said you weren’t seeing anybody else here.”

“Shh.”

“Did this child just hush me?“

“We’re talking about something important. Mark… Uhh…” Jisung sends the oldest boy a concerned stare. “I think you’d rather talk to her alone now.”

“Can I?”

“She has enough energy to do it now.”

So Renjun and Jisung leave the room and join Jeno and Donghyuck in the kitchen. They stay quiet for a while, each drinking iced lemonade. Soon, Mark comes out from the bedroom, his eyes glistening from tears.

“I guess that’s it.”

“What?”

“She’s gone. She faded back to wherever ghosts go.” Mark’s breath is shaky as he laughs. “Is it silly that I got attached to her even though I knew she’s already dead?”

“Of course it’s not.” Donghyuck pulls the boy into a hug. “It’s your mom, after all.”

Mark forces tears back and sits at the table. “That would mean it’s the end of our deal. Ghosts are taken care of. My dad’s still walking free but we can’t really do anything about it. Everything will go back to normal.” He sighs. “Is it silly that I got attached to you guys even though I knew you’re doing it only for money?”

“We were at the beginning, true, but we’re friends now, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, actually… we don’t want the money you offered us at the beginning,” Renjun says. “You can pay Yangyang, he’s struggled a lot. And Jisungie, he’s starting college, he’s gonna need it.”

“But we’re staying in the apartment.”

“Yeah.”

Mark laughs through tears. “I’m glad you want to keep in touch with me then.”

“Who wouldn’t?”

You can sense the relief in the air. The school year finished, ghosts dispelled, friendships established, (Renjun still not kissed, Donghyuck’s mind reminds him), everyone can’t help but feel happy. Only one thing disturbs their happiness, and that is a ringing doorbell, and the door being unlocked.

“Hey, Mark, I just came to check– “ The voice abruptly stops, followed by the sound of a bag hitting the floor and a cup being slammed onto the table.

“Na Jaemin?!”

“Lee Donghyuck… And Lee Jeno.” The newcomer glances at Jeno and then glares at Donghyuck as he’s hit with a realization. “You?! You’re the shaman? You, loser?”

“Yeah, and you offered me ten million won so who’s the real loser here?”

Jisung takes a sip of lemonade and looks around at arguing boys, flabbergasted Mark, pale Jeno, and genuinely concerned Renjun.

“Oh yes... After five minutes of peace, we’re finally back to normal.”

**……**

_("Jisung…" Donghyuck leans over the table with a smirk. "How about–"_

_"No," Jeno says as he places the cup right beside him._

_"I didn't even finish!"_

_"I know you, Lee Donghyuck, and I know what you're going to say. I disapprove."_

_"But Jeno–" Jisung starts but is immediately cut off by_

_his brother._

_"I agreed to let you go with these two one time, and you ended up becoming a criminal."_

_"We succeeded though."_

_"Still a no from me."_

_"You're so boring." Donghyuck sighs._

_"I honestly think he's just being reasonable." Renjun takes a sip of his tea._

_"Thank you, Renjun."_

_“Jeno, you have to admit it, Jisungie is very useful in our little business. You’ve always wanted us to stop scamming people! It’s not a scam if Jisung’s with us!”_

_“Jisung is a freshman in college, he doesn’t have time. And by that, I meant you should get normal jobs!”_

_Donghyuck wants to argue, but Renjun speaks up. “You know what, Hyuck… Maybe we should... Maybe… I even have a plan.”)_


End file.
